Marketers: Do you bang your head against the wall after receiving yet another "final” design that completely disregards the creative brief and your feedback on previous iterations?
Designers: Have you ever strained a muscle rolling your eyes at marketers who leave vague feedback or stretch the original scope of the project?
Marketing and creative teams must work closely together simply due to the nature of their work. But working side-by-side, day-by-day doesn't automatically mean those teams have a strong collaborative relationship. Like any relationship, it takes commitment to nurture and maintain.
Take heart, however, if you're on either of these teams and struggling to work well with the other. A few simple tweaks to your communication style can make all the difference.
As this infographic reveals, most of the major sticking points between marketers and creatives boil down to poor communication:
- Fewer than 40% of marketers say design teams follow the creative brief or ask questions to clarify expectations.
- 70% of marketers say their creative team doesn’t follow a transparent process, so marketers are left in the dark until the final product is delivered.
- Fewer than 30% of creatives agree that marketers give useful and timely feedback. However, 46% of marketers say they do.
- Fewer than 23% of creatives think marketers brief new projects clearly.
Moving forward as a team
With a more mindful approach to communication and a little honest self-reflection, marketing and creative teams can start working together to achieve better results — in less time and with fewer headaches. The right collaboration tool can also go a long way in improving communication and transparency, and achieving productive integrated marketing communications. For help finding the right software solution for your team, check out Wrike for Marketers.
